Reserve future still uncertain
THERE’S just weeks to go before Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) walks away from running the Kenfig National Nature Reserve and a lease has yet to be signed for its future management.
THERE are just weeks to go before Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) walks away from running the Kenfig National Nature Reserve and a lease has yet to be signed for its future management.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is planning to take on a long-term lease for the reserve but said discussions were still ongoing.
The reserve comprises about 1,300 acres of managed coastal sand dunes and wetlands on the coastline between Porthcawl and Port Talbot and is regarded as one of the finest examples of a sand dune habitat in Europe.
The reserve is home to many rare species of plants, insects, birds and animals.
It contains the UK’s entire population of the fen orchid and includes the clear waters of Kenfig Pool which, at 70 acres, is the largest natural lake in South Wales
Last month NRW said it was undertaking due diligence checks after concluding it was best placed to manage the conservation interests at the site.
BCBC’s lease for the management of the reserve expires at the end of December.
Cabinet members voted to leave the site at a meeting in December 2018, saying the local authority did not have the expertise to maintain the reserve into the future.
It brings to a close several decades of site management by local government.
The council has previously spoken of its frustration with the landowners, the Kenfig Corporation Trust (KCT), for not working with officers to appoint a successor earlier to enable a suitable handover period.
In recent months more than 3,000 people have signed a petition to raise concerns over the apparent slow progress of a new organisation taking on the reserve.
Cabinet member for education and regeneration Charles Smith said: “I am informed that a new lease has not yet been signed, but talks between NRW and KCT are ongoing and positive.
“BCBC assets are being removed off-site, to give the landowner vacant possession.
“A full handover pack, including details of utility companies, keys etc, is being made ready for the trust to receive on or before December 31.
“All services to the site, including litter collection, will then be the responsibility of KCT.”
He added: “NRW have indicated that they’ll not make use of the centre building as a visitor centre, so its future use is for KCT to decide.
“It’s the hope of cabinet members that in due course a conservation body such as National Trust, RSPB or similar, will be interested in a partnership with NRW for this and other aspects of the visitor experience, but that is now entirely in the hands of KCT and NRW.
“It’s also our hope that the toilets will remain open to the public. They have been serviced by BCBC personnel with generous sponsorship from Cornelly Community Council.
“So from January 1, 2020, BCBC will no longer be the only council in Britain operating a nature reserve with the ‘premier league’ national and European designations enjoyed by Kenfig.
“I am sure that our successors will ensure that it will continue to be a wonderful place for our future generations.”
A spokesman for the trust said: “Negotiations are still ongoing.”